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OutFront Leadership and Coaching

April 09, 2017

As a leader, one of your most important jobs is to develop your managers. Most of us are pretty good at doing that with newly promoted person, but we often slow down or stop developing them once they attain a certain amount of experience and competency.

Here are three ways you may or may not have put into action with your more seasoned management team.

1. Delegate improving a particular metric or category sales over a 60-90 day period. This could be a particular category or brand, increasing ADS or conversion/transactions, or any other area of performance that can be improved.

This is not about being in charge of a department. This is taking full responsibility for analyzing current performance and approach, coming up with a plan to improve, and following through and working the plan. Taking something like this on for two or three months is an incredible opportunity for your assistant to develop, and for you to coach her.

2. The phantom sabbatical. What would happen if today you decided to take a six-month sabbatical? (Besides buying that new bathing suit and/or golf clubs you'd want to take with you!) Would your leadership team be ready to step in and run the store? Would they know how to do everything?

Usually when I ask that I question the response is something like, "Yes, for the most part, but I would need to show or teach this or that." Bingo! What is your leadership team's this or that? That's a great area to focus development.

3. Coaching the coach in person. It is important to give your managers feedback on how well they coach the staff, and the only way to do this effectively is to observe them while they're coaching.

At least once a month, if not more, tell the staff that one of your managers is in charge for the day. They should see you as just another associate. Observe the manager and give her/him feedback at a couple points during the day. Don't wait until the end of the day, or the person will miss the opportunity to immediately apply the feedback.

Other coaching the coach opportunities include having managers lead staff meetings, join in on Take Fives, and even have them lead one-on-one discussions with associates.

So let me ask, how consistently are you developing your seasoned managers? Which of these tips might you apply, or is there something else you’ve been considering that you could move forward with?

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About Doug: Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

When talking with employees, especially when giving them feedback, the words we use can put them on their heels or on their toes.

Sometimes managers unintentionally choose words that put their employees on the defensive, or what I call on their heels. This is usually the result of starting feedback with what is perceived by the employee as an accusatory statement.

"Why didn't you bother to tell that customer about the GWP?"

"I don't think you care about your sales results."

"How come you didn’t offer the customer desert?"

"You had plenty of time to get that order out."

Anytime a person is back on their heels they're less likely to hear the message and apply the feedback. They’re going to spend all of their energy defending themselves.

The goal is to choose words that inspire people to listen, or put them on their toes leaning in, if you will.

"I have a few ideas of ways you can engage your customers with the GWP.

"I see your sales been lagging over the past few days. Let's sit down and discuss it."

"I noticed that you didn’t offer that last table desert. Here’s why it is so important that every customer gets to experience our delicious deserts.”

"Before you go, let's spend two minutes and talk about how your day went."

It's clear which statements the employee is more likely to listen to and apply the feedback.

The same holds true with customers. The words we choose either put them on their heels or toes.

"Do you have any questions?" and "How may I help you?" can put some customers on their heels.

"Let me show you..." and "Welcome. Let me tell you about...." will put more customers on their toes.

I encourage you to listen carefully to the words you use with your staff and customers, and determine if it is putting them on their heels or on their toes.

So let me ask, are you more likely to put someone on their heels or their toes?

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About Doug: Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

March 09, 2017

I’m excited to announce a brand coaching and leadership program The More Accountable Coach and Leader. This is four-week program for holding yourself and your team accountable to higher standards and results. This is the perfect follow-up to those who have taken my EveryDay Coaching and Leadership program. (Suggested but not required.) Details here..

I used to assume that if someone was struggling to do something, it was because they needed more training. Sometimes that was the case, but sometimes what she/he really needed was to successfully apply the skills and knowledge the person had already learned.

How do you know the difference? Here’s a simple but effective way to look at it.

1. People first need to know WHY we do, or need to know, something. If people don't know why you're asking them to do it, they rarely do it. Or at the least they're much less likely to do it especially well.

Why should I learn three things about my customer?

Why should I show an additional item without asking? I

It is also important that your team know if these actions are required or optional.

2. Next, each person needs to learn HOW and/or WHAT.

How do I engage customers in a conversation to ask questions in an authentic way?

How do I show an additional item without being perceived as pushy?

How is this product made?

What makes these products unique and different?

Never assume your staff know the HOW or WHAT. You’d be surprised how often leaders assume the staff knows this but they don’t. They know it’s supposed to be done, but nobody has worked closely with them to learn and practice the skill.

3. Now, people need to DO it. If something is an expectation of the position, people need to meet that expectation. This is where the biggest breakdown happens.

People don't do what's expected of them and the manager/owner assumes the person can't do it and needs more training.

In fact, most often the person doesn't need more training. What he/she needs is observation and coaching so they can do whatever it is they need to do, and do it well.

After that, they need to do it or be held accountable for drifting from it. That’s why accountability is such a key element to leading and coaching a team.

If your staff is struggling in a particular area, walk though these three steps.

Do they know WHY?

Do they how know HOW or WHAT?

Are you requiring them to DO it, and to keep doing it?

So let me ask, does your staff need more training, coaching and accountability, or a combination of them?

How to use this article

Think about two particular service/selling actions you'd like to see your staff do better. Then apply the three questions. This will help you determine if they need additional training, or you need to be working with them to do it.

February 18, 2017

When most managers think they are coaching in the moment, they are really doing one of three things with an employee.

Yelling - Okay, most leaders aren't usually yellers (at least I hope not), but the leader's focus on what the employee did wrong is often interpreted as being yelled at.

Telling - Telling is much better than yelling. In this approach, the leader tells the employee why he/she is being coached.

Teaching - Teaching is far superior to telling. When leaders teach, they take time to connect someone's behaviors and actions to customers, colleagues, and results. Teaching drives behavior changing much faster.

Here's an example

While working the floor with Courtney, you observe that she was so focused on putting out an order out she didn't notice a customer walking into the store.

Here are three ways you can address it:

Yell - "Courtney, you missed greeting that customer who came in." Remember, it is often a perceived yell whether you raise your voice or not.

Tell - "Courtney, I saw you miss greeting that customer. You’re expected to welcome every customer within five seconds."

Teach - "Courtney, I noticed you were so busy with the order that you missed welcoming the customer. It's important that we welcome within five seconds so our customers see that they are our priority. They also know we know they're here, and that we're ready to assist them."

Yes, teaching takes more time than telling and yelling. Imagine, though, what Courtney may think or say after each approach:

Yell: "Okay okay. I was just trying hard to get the order out as soon as possible like you asked."

Tell: "I know. She slipped in so quietly."

Teaching: "That makes sense. I'll try to be more aware."

It's obvious which approach is going to have the most impact.

Successful coaching recognizes what the employee is doing well so they continue to do so, and teaches what they can do to be even better. Something we emphasis and practice in my EveryDay Coaching and Leadership class.

So let me ask, are you more likely to yell, tell, or teach your staff?

- Doug

How to use this article

Talk with your management team about the three different approaches, and what each person can do to increase the amount of teaching they do with the staff.

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About Doug: Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

February 08, 2017

Not long ago I had a conversation with a manager who is struggling in his job. The company is unhappy with both his performance and his attitude.

During our discussion I could see there were three key issues creating the performance gap between where he currently was, and where the company wanted him to be.

1. Lack of clarity on HOW to close the gap. This is common; I see all too often. A manager will sit down and tell someone where he/she is falling short, and where he or she needs to be to close the gap. What's often lacking is any idea of how to get from the current place to the goal.

Most managers aren't even aware of this. They assume the employee knows how to get where he/she needs to be, or that they covered it in the meeting. You might ask why the employee doesn't tell the manager they don't know how to do what they're being asked. Well, often they too assume they know how, or they don't want to show any weakness when they're already struggling.

Here's a simple test. Your employee should be able to tell you exactly what he/she is going to start doing, or stop doing, or do differently, and it is something you should be able to see or hear them do. That last part is critical.

2. Lack of a specific plan to close the gap. It makes no difference if you're trying to help an employee grow her average sale by $4, or she is on final probation. As a leader, your role is to partner with your employee in creating a specific plan to close the gap.

It should not only include the "how", but also specific day/dates of when you or another resource will be assisting them. If can be something as simple as: We'll meet every Tuesday morning for four weeks to practice and roleplay.

3. A poor attitude is usually born out of frustration. Most employees want to do a good job. They get frustrated when there is a performance gap, and as a result they get a "bad attitude."

More often than not, if you focus on the first two factors you'll almost always take care of the attitude. If not, you can address that after the person is demonstrating the required behaviors and actions.

As a leader, your role is to help every employee deliver the best performance possible. That often includes helping someone close a performance gap.

So let me ask, who on your staff might need some help closing his/her performance gap?

How to use this article

As a group, discuss what you might do differently to do a better job of leading and coaching your staff through current or future gaps.

About Doug: Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

January 22, 2017

The three biggest barriers to successful coaching your employees are Me, Myself, and I. Once you get past those internal gatekeepers you become a much more effective coach, one who can help employees grow, develop, and reach new heights of performance.

Here are a three things those gatekeepers sometimes tell you, and why you should not listen to them.

1. "You hurt someone’s feelings when you tell them they're not doing a good job."

First of all, your gatekeeper has it wrong. You're not telling her what she is doing wrong, you're helping the employee do something better.

Second, you rarely hurt someone's feelings by giving feedback. We're all adults. Employees are fine hearing feedback as long as it is done respectfully in a way that they can hear.

2. "If you give him feedback he's going to get mad and that will affect the team."

Wrong, gatekeepers! Rarely does the person get mad, and if he does you talk it through with him. If he continues to act mad, then you tell him to stop it.

Here's what affects teamwork... not addressing an issue, or letting someone on the team consistently fall short of expectations. Remember this: Drama is unresolved conflict. Don't let issues fester and you won't have drama.

3. "Don't say anything now. Wait a few days and address it then."

I'm glad that gatekeeper is in management, not medicine! If you're bleeding, do you wait a few days to address the problem? Of course not. The sooner you address an issue, the sooner you are on the way to making things better.

The same is true with people. You rarely need to wait to give your staff feedback. Do you purposely wait days to praise someone? Of course not.

People want to be successful. They want to do a good job. The faster you give them feedback the faster they are on the way to doing just that.

So let me ask, are your internal gatekeepers getting in the way of you coaching your people to be even better?

How to use this article with your leadership team

Discuss as a group how internal gatekeepers can get in the way of successful coaching your employees. Have people share how these and other gatekeeper messages can impede their helping the staff be their best. Last but not least, ignore those gatekeeper messages!

January 04, 2017

As a leader you have strengths that I'm sure serve you well. It's important to know what those strengths are, and that's why I encourage my clients to identify their five top strengths. I also believe that claiming your strengths makes it easier to claim what you need to improve.

These areas of improvement are your weaknesses, although I often call them areas of opportunity since some people struggle with the "W" word. Everyone has weaknesses of some sort, but not all of them impact your work. I can't hit a golf ball worth a darn, but that's not a skill that's usually required of a consultant/speaker.

It's vital to identify your weaknesses. Taking a hard look at where you fall short is not easy, but it allows you to increase your awareness and, if you address what you've learned, improve what needs to be improved.

It's easy to identify things you're not good at, such as visual presentation, but that's not the kind of thing that gets in a leader's way. Those are the flaws that are easily fixable by taking a class or an online program.

The weaknesses or shortcomings that I'm talking about are more personal. The more personal the weakness the more likely it is to negatively affect the staff and, potentially, results. What I'm talking about can be anything from anger management issues to avoiding conflict to talking too much to not getting things done.

What differentiates great leaders from the rest is how they address these personal weaknesses. Since they are personal, it means you have the power to change and evolve. That's why we encourage clients to set what we call personal quality goals.

A personal quality goal is a way to take a personal weakness and turn it into a positive ACTION. The act of creating and sharing personal quality goals helps you be proactive in displaying the right behaviors and actions, instead of allowing those shortcomings to exert a negative effect on those around you.

Let me share some examples of how a particular weakness can be turned into a personal quality goal.

* A leader who struggles to take the time to recognize his/her team's performance can set a personal quality goal of recognizing two people a day.

* A leader who hates confrontation can create a personal quality goal of addressing any issue that arises on the same day, unless to do so would hurt the other person.

* A leader who procrastinates about paperwork can have a personal quality goal of completing all paperwork within 48-hours.

* A leader who loses his/her temper can set a personal quality goal of never raising his/her voice to someone. And if it does happen, he/she has another personal quality goal of apologizing to the individual that same day.

* A leader who blames outside forces for problems can have a personal quality goal of always stating first what he/she did and did not do to achieve the goal.

* A leader who talks too much, or dominates conversations, can set a personal quality goal of asking more questions and listening more.

The key to successfully using personal quality goals is to share them with someone you trust, and who can help you stick to them. It can be a mentor, colleague, manager, coach, and even one of your employees. It just has to be someone who will call you out if need be, and someone you can rat yourself out to if you fall short when the other person isn't around.

So let me ask, what personal quality goal will make a big difference in your leadership and development in 2017?

- Doug

Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

December 27, 2016

Here’s a fun questionnaire to use with your leadership team to identify opportunities to grow as an OutFront Leader and Coach in 2017.

1. Do you begin your day with a positive attitude? One where you plan to succeed?

Most days - 2 points

Some days - 1 point

No and I don't care - 0 points

2. Do you have a written plan each month/week to make certain you achieve your goals?

Yes - 2 points

Most of the time - 1 point

No, I just hope for the best - 0 points

3. Do you regularly praise your staff?

I do. I really do! - 2 points

I probably think about it more than I do it. - 1 point

I have to talk to my employees? - 0 points

4. Do you recognize employees in front of their peers?

Yes, and they appreciate it - 2 points

Sometimes - 1 point

Everybody knows what everyone looks like so why bother - 0 points

5. Do you regularly thank your staff?

Always - 2 points

Most of the time - 1 point

Yes, if they bring me coffee - 0 point

6. Do your employees feel like you're a good coach and that you have their best interests at heart?

Yes - 2 points

Some of them do - 1 point

I have to coach them, too? - 0 points

7. Do you model expected behaviors as you work alongside your staff?

Almost always - 2 points

I try - 1 point

Do I look like a model? - 0 point

8. Do you regularly meet with your staff and discuss their development?

Every month (or so) like clockwork - 2 points

Pretty regularly - 1 point

Sure, if you count hanging out in the breakroom together - 0 points

9. Do you regularly meet with someone to discuss your development?

I make an effort - 2 points

It might happen from time to time - 1 point

I get plenty of feedback from my spouse - 0 points

10. Would you be proud to have every member of your team wait on your best customer?

Absolutely - 2 points

I hope so - 1 point

You've got to be kidding - 0 points

11. Do you constantly remind your employees what actions they take need to take to deliver a great experience and make a sale?

Like clockwork - 2 points

Yes, but could do more - 1 point

What actions are you talking about? - 0 points

12. Are you happy doing what you're doing?

Love it - 2 points

Most days - 1 point

You know where I can get a job? - 0 points

13. If you are out sick for the next 90 days, do you have someone who can step into your role?

Yes - 2 points

Sort of - 1 point

Get sick. Great idea! - 0 points

14. Do you spend as much time training and developing your staff as you do on administrative work?

I think so - 2 points

I try - 1 point

You're kidding me? - 0 points

15. Can you look back on 2016 and see how you personally have grown?

Absolutely - 2 points

Now that you mention it, yes. - 1 point

Sure. 20 pounds, to be exact - 0 points

16. Are you worried about business in 2017?

Yes, I'm worried how I'll be able to spend all the money I plan to make! - 2 points

Concerned is a better way to say it - 1 point

About that job - 0 points

17. Do you have ideas on how you’ll be an even better coach and leader 2017?

Yes, I do! - 2 points

I don't know - 1 point

You have ruined my day. - 0 points

Add up your score and see how you've done. Are you pleased with your score? In what areas would you like to improve?

I encourage you write down three actions you’ll commit to taking in early January to not only improve you, but substantially increase the likelihood of your business having a highly successful 2017!

Remember, choose to create your success and take the daily actions necessary to achieve your goals.

Happy New Year!

- Doug

Doug Fleener, the former director of retail for Bose Corporation, is a speaker and consultant known for bring fresh approaches and powerful actionable ideas to clients and audiences around the world. Learn more at DougFleener.com.

November 16, 2016

1. Champion WE. OutFront leaders position and reinforce how essential the team is to the success of the business. Henry Ford said, ""If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself." I believe that how well a retail staff works together to engage and sell customers can have a positive - or negative - impact of 10% or more.

Specialty stores want to champion team selling, silent assists, colleague coaching, multi-customer engagement, and all other teamwork that results in higher sales and the best possible customer service experience.

2. Champion maximizing every customer opportunity.Recently, while shopping in a department store I overheard two salespeople complaining about how slow business was. They were doing this, of course, instead of engaging me.

Holiday success isn't dependent on any one promotion or event, but it will be determined by the experience and level of sales focus on every customer that walks into the store. Miss maximizing even one customer opportunity, and it might be the one that makes the day.

3. Champion your customer's experience. What sets your store apart from all the rest are the products you sell, AND the experience a customer has when shopping with you. While some customers might be looking for deals, that isn’t the only reason they come into your store.

Customers shop your store because of how it makes them feel. The better they feel, the more they purchase. How we do that might change during the holidays, but the importance of doing it never does.

Take these three actions this week and throughout the holidays your store staff is sure to be Champions! (Cue up the Queen music!)

So let me ask, what are you and your leaders championing for this holiday?

How to use this article.

Discuss with your leadership team how each of them sets the tone, and how championing key messages makes a positive impact on holiday results. Talk about these three key points to champion, and any others you and they feel might be vital to your store’s success.

- Doug Fleener

I speak, consult, coach, and offer online trainings to retail, hospitality, banking, professional services and other customer-focused companies and associations. Learn more about DougFleener.com, or call 781-861-7803.

October 19, 2016

1. Reach even higher. I like to think that managers maintain what is, but OutFront leaders and coaches create what can be.

2. Focus on HOW more than what. Managers will tell employees what their goals are, or how they’re falling short. OutFront leaders and coaches will focus their conversations on what people can DO to achieve their goals.

3. Give self-confidence. Jack Welch once said that giving his staff self-confidence is one of the most important things he does as a leader. Self-confidence, he says, leads to people taking action. We give self-confidence by telling people WHY they can do or achieve what is being asked of them.

4. Show the way. When you invest the time to work directly with your staff, they will grow considerably faster than doing so on her/his own. That’s a huge ROI on your time. An ROI that shows up in your staff’s development and business results.

Here’s an example of how an OutFront leader in one of my coaching programs put these four into action: I’ll let Brittany tell you the rest.

"Yesterday I worked with <name removed>, and I took the advice you gave mel. After every transaction we discussed what we did with the customer. At the end of her shift her ADS was $79, which is a 16.5% increase from her current $66. I also saw her confidence increase as she said to me, 'this is so much easier than I thought it would be, you were right!'"

So let me ask, what will you do to maximize this week's leadership opportunities?